Plug cock for handling powdered materials



March 30, 1943. P. H. HOLT, 20., EI'AL 2,315,058

PLUG COCK FOR HANDLING POWDERED MATERIALS Filed April 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 I mm h 9 P. H. HOLT, 20., ETAL 2,315,058

PLUG COCK FOR HANDLING POWDERED MATERIALS Filed April 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J] Q 3. w i i -Y Mm 30, 1943. P. H. Hm, 20.. am. 2,315,05

'PIJUG COCK FOR HANDLING POWDERED MATERIALS Filed April 12 1940 4 sheets-sheet s fVGT- 4 Mud: 30, 1943. P. H. HOLT, 20.. EI'AL' 2,315,058 PLUG COCK FOR HANDLING POWDERED MATERIALS Filed April 12, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 30, 1943 PIIIUG COCK FOR HANDLING POWDERED MATERIALS Philetus H. Holt, 2116, Summit, and Howard G.

Codet, Scotch Plains, N. J., assignorsto Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of Delaware Application April 12, 1940, Serial No. 329,208

1 Claim. (01.251401) The present invention relates to valves, and more particularly to a plug type valve, in which a substantially frusto-conical valve plug is provided for rotational movement with relation to a cooperating seat in a valve body.

In the handling of finely divided solid materials, such as a-dry powdered catalyst, either with I or without the fiuidizing efiect of air or another I through which such materials must be passed.

The various means devised to overcome these difiioulties, in the past, have been only partially successful.

The present invention is fully set forth in the following specification with particular reference to a valve structure generally termed a lift cock valve, in which a mechanical jack is used to raise the valve plug approximately 0.002 inch off its seat, permitting rotational movement to obtain the desired valve setting; the valve plug being reseated thereafter. With the ordinary lift cock, the lifting of the plug from its seat permits the conveyed material to fill the annular space between the plug and the seat, and when again turned .down, this thin layer of solid :particles intervenes between the seating surfaces. In purely liquid systems, or those in which the concentration of solid particles is low, the intervening layer is readily displaced by compression when the valve is set. In systems handling substantial amounts of solid materials, however, the intervening layer is not squeezed out and soon builds up, as a coating, to the pointwhere it seriously interferes with the proper seating of the valve plug. Its effect may either be to raise the plug so far off the seat as to permit by-pass .be-

low, or, by reason of a partial breakdown of the impacted coating, to result in channeling thereof, permitting by-pass of the conveyed material between the plug and its seat in the valve body.

It is an object of this invention to provide-a valve structure suitable for use in conduit sys terns,- of the type set forth above, which will not be subject to packing, or to excessive wear of the valve surfaces by interfacial abrasion of the solid materials conveyed therethrough. It, is also an object of the invention to provide a valve structure in which movement of the valve plug serves to clean the seat therefor. These and other objects of the invention may be readily appreciated from the following specification, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. .1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a plug type valve Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the valve plug, slightly enlarged; I

Fig. 3' is a horizontal section through the valve plug along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

4 is a side elevation of an alternate form of valve plug; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing an alternate form of valve operating mechanism.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral l designates a valve body having a flanged inlet 2 and a flanged outlet 3, each communicating with a valve chamber 4, by means of ports 2a and 3a, respectively. The valve chamber 4 opens outwardly through the upper portion of the body I which has an annular portion formed peripherally of the opening, and having a seat 5 adapted to receive the valve bonnet 6. The bonnet may be secured in fluid-tight relation to the seat by any conventional means. The lower portion of the valve body l is so formed as to permit the valve chamber to be extended downwardlytherein below the ports 2a and 3a. forming an annular valve seating surface la. A similar seating surface above the entrance and exit openings is provided within the annular portion 5, as at 1b. The valve chamber 5, including those portions within the upper and lower seating surfaces, has a tapered shape, as the interior of a hollow frus tum of a cone, the inner wall of the valve body forming the chamber 4, being machined to provide a smoothly tapered surface, broken only by the inlet and outlet valve ports 2a and 3a.

Seated in the chamber 6 is avalve plug 8,

' having a stem 9 extending upwardly through the inserted. A passageway 8a, laterally through the plug, provides for flow of the conveyed materials when aligned with the valve ports. Seating of.

the plug 8 in the valve chamber 4 is obtained by means of the annular ridge portions or ribs I0 disposed above and below the lateral passageway in the plug, andby longitudinal ridge portions or ribs ll, disposed lateraliy of the passageway The ribs l and II are provided of such thickness as to make fluid-tight contact with the valve chamber wall surface when the plug 8 is fully inserted and set in the valve chamber.

As indicated above, the valve illustrated is of the lift cock" type in which provision is made to lift the valve plug from its seat before it is turned. A shown, the valve-stem 9 extends upwardly through a passageway in the bonnet, a fluid-tight joint being maintained around the stem by means of packing gland H. The upper end of the stem is threaded and extends concentrically through a passageway in a sleeve portion I3a' of a jack-wheel I 3, the sleeve being threaded into a corresponding passage in the top of the bonnet 6, and of such length that when fully turned down the sleeve end will project beyond the lower end of the bonnet passageway for not less than .002 of an inch. A portion of the upper end of the stem 9 extends above the jack-wheel I 3 and to this is secured the handwheel or valve-wheel H," by means of the hollow threaded boss Ila. The set screw Mb maintains a fixed relationship between the valve-wheel and stem 9.' Within the bonnet, and below the jackwheel sleeve l3a, a collar member I5 is mounted on the stem 9. The' collar l5 may be adjusted to any desired relationship with th sleeve end, or the inner surface of the upper end of the bonnet 6, and so maintained by means of the set screw I511.

Proper operation of the valve is largely dependent upon the relationship established in the assembly of the jack-wheel IS, the valve-wheel l4, and the collar I 5, it being desirable that the distance between the collar I 5 and the lower end of the hub of valve-wheel [4 .be at least .002 of an inch greater than the over-all length of the jack-wheel sleeve l3a. In setting up these elements, with relation to the bonnet 6 and valve stem '9, the collar 15 should be threaded on the stem 8, as it is passed upward through the packing gland in the bonnet 6, and turned down all the way on the stem, which will then extend through the upper bonnet passageway. The bon-' net may then be applied and secured to the valve body, and the valve plug lightly seated by manual pressure on the valve stem. The collar should be adjusted on the valve stem into closely spaced relation to the lower end of the passageway through the upper end of the bonnet, the space between them being adjusted to not less than .002 of an inch. The jack-wheel sleeve I311 should then be inserted and threaded through "the passageway until its lower end firmly engages the collar l5,

securely seating the valve plug in its seat. The set screw He may now be tightened to fix the position of the collar on stem 9. With these elements in place, the handwheel I may be applied to the upper end of the stem 9, and threaded on until the lower end of the hub Ma lightly engages the upper surface of the Jack-wheel l3. It is sometimes desirable that a small amount of play he provided inthe assembly, and this may be achieved by adjusting the valve-wheel H on the stem 9 so that its hub Ha be in slightly spaced relation to the upper end of the sleeve l3a. When the assembly is thuscompleted, the set screw Ilb is tightened. Other steps may be followed to accomplish the desired relationship, but that which is set forth above illustrates a preferred method.

under such conditions as to make it undesirable valve chamber above and below the valve plug, means are provided for scavenging these spaces after each movement of the plug. Such means may consist of lines l6 and Il communicating with the upper portion of the chamber 4 through the bonnet 6 and line l8 and I9 communicating with the lower portion of the chambe through the lower wail of valve body I.

'In use, to open or close the valve, the jackthe valve, and then, by means of the jack-wheel,

in engagement with the stop member I5, the plug is again firmly seated in the chamber.

, During the lifting of the plug from its seat, a small amount of the conveyed material will enter the valve chamber above and below the valve plug. To flush and clean out this material, steam or another gaseous material, or in some instances, even a liquid material, may be injected by means of lines l6 and I8 after the plug has been re-inserted or seated. The accumulated material and the flushingmedium may be discharged by way of lines I! and I9. Alternatively, it may be desirable to operate the valve to permit the conveyed material to enter the areas above and below the valve plug. In such instance, the lines I1 and I 9 may be closed by suitable valves therein, and a constant pressure exerted through the lines I6 and .1 8. This pressure should be somewhat higher than that existing in the respective conduit portions, and will substantially avoid by-passing of the plug, during such stages of operation during which it is 1 not fully seated.

In order to prevent packing of material in the It should also be obvious from the foregoing description and the drawings, that by the construction set forth, a valve structure is provided in which the valve plug is so formed as to prevent the adherence of solid materials to the walls of the valve chamber or to the plug to such extent as to prevent proper seating. In lifting the plug, and in returning it to its seat, the ribs l0 exert a scraping action on the walls of the chamber which will remove any adhering solids. Likewise, when the plug has been only slightly lifted, rotation by means of the valve wheel I 4 produces a similar effect through-the longitudinal ribs ll.

, The self-cleaning eifect produced by the ribs l0 and H, as-illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, is greatly enhanced when the annular ribs in are of a sinuous or serpentine conformation. The use of sinuous, annular ribs is illustrated in Fig. 4, the annular rib portions being designated by the numeral I0a.

In this connection, it is preferable that the plug stem be provided for rotation in one direction only so as to prevent stagnation of-material in the areas defined by the longitudinal r1155.

As shown in Fig. 5; the desired result may be accomplished by means of a ratchet connection between the valve wheel and the stem. In this construction, the valve wheel I4 is freely supported on the stem 9, which extends upwardly beyond the stem and bears a ratchet nut I9 and a lock nut 20. A spring operated ratchet pawl 2|. is secured to the hub of the wheel l4 for engagement with the ratchet nut. Likewise a double pawl arrangement may be provided so that the direction of one-way rotation may be alternated as desired in order to equalize wear on the seating surfaces of the plug.

Various other modifications of the structure set forth may be made without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the ribs, I0 and it may be of a metal dissimilar from that of the valve plug, being set into the plug surface in any conventional or desired manner; other means may be provided for lifting and rotating the valve plug than shown, and means may be provided for positive flushing of the plug areas laterally of the passage as defined by the longitudinal ribs M. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention shall be limited to any spe-= is seated.

- PHILETUS H. HOLT, 2m).

HOWARD G.-CODET. 

